Rant #2,166: A Beautiful Morning

OK, ladies ... I am going to tell you right away that this column really isn't for you, although you are free to read it if you must.

And I am not going to apologize for being male, and having male tendencies toward female beauty.

I know that the slightest inference of this in today's world can lead to sexual harassment charges, but why shouldn't I be impressed with those ladies who have both beauty and brains?

I wake up at 3:30 a.m. in the morning on weekdays, and I watch CBS for my early morning news.

And let me tell you, both nationally and in New York, there is an array of female newscasters who are both good looking and have the brains to back it up, which makes them even more attractive.

So here is my periodic update on the female newscasters that deliver the news in the early morning on CBS and Channel 2, the local CBS affiliate and flagship station of the network in New York.

And if you consider this sexist, so be it.

On the CBS Morning News, I start my day with Ann Marie Green, originally from Canada, who has that "girl-next-door look" that I find quite attractive. She is professional, has a bit of a sense of humor that she displays at times in her banter with other newscasters on the show, and she pulls it all off with a lot of talent.

One of the news reporters on the shows is Hena Doba, who recently subbed for Green when she took a few days off. I remember her as Hena Daniels from an early stint in her career on Channel 11, WPIX here in New York, and this lady is not only talented, but she seems to get better looking each and every day. Eye candy with talent, if you will.

At 4:30 a.m., the local news begins, and right there at the starting point, and the starting point for all of this chatter, is Mary Calvi. The veteran reporter is already in my personal female newscaster Hall of Fame. She is absolutely gorgeous, and if you need eye candy to perk you up in the morning, she is definitely it.

Working the traffic beat is Alex Denis, another veteran newscaster who is long and lean and does what she does with a lot of aplomb.

And her occasional substitute is another Alex--Alex Lee. She hadn't been on the air in a while--she only subs when the other Alex is either off or is moved to the leadoff spot to sub for Calvi when she has time off-but she came back having lost a bit of weight, and she looks great!

The show has numerous younger male and female reporters in the field, and one of the veteran ones is Janelle Burrell, You can't forget her rhyming name, but she is way, way beyond that. As probably the most talented early morning reporter on the show, she has seen it all and covered it all, and I am sure you will be hearing of her years from now, when she gets off the early morning beat and maybe one day anchors the show. She is that good.

A recent hire--I assume to replace another early morning hire, Magdalena Doris, who moved to a Philadelphia station in the CBS network--is Natalie Duddridge. When she came on the scene a month or two ago, when I first saw her, I said to myself "who is that?" and now I know--she is a very talented street reporter, again with that girl-next-door look that I find attractive.

There are others on that station that are both very talented and easy on the eyes, but I will leave you with this group.

If you are in New York, take a gander at CBS News. Don't tell me that these ladies weren't hired simply for their newscasting talents. Yes, they are talented, but yes, they are also eye candy, really easy on the eyes, and yes, they get your attention each and every morning.

And you can say what you want to about me, but heck, I am a red blooded American male, and there is nothing that I find more attractive in the opposite sex than the two "Bs": beauty and brains.

And these women that I just described have them both, in great abundance.

Yes, they are sights for my sore eyes each and every weekday morning.